Sex Charge Spices Senate Race

(CBS/AP)  Republican Jack Ryan vowed to stay in the race for U.S. Senate despite embarrassing allegations that he tried to pressure his former wife to perform sex acts in clubs while others watched.

"My intention is to stay in the race," Ryan said Monday, hours after a California judge unsealed divorce records from his marriage to Jeri Lynn Ryan, the actress best known for roles on TV's "Boston Public" and "Star Trek: Voyager."

Jeri Lynn Ryan charged during a custody hearing that Ryan took her on surprise trips to New Orleans, New York and Paris in 1998, the year before they divorced, and that he insisted she go to sex clubs with him each time.

In New York, Ryan's former wife described a club "with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." She said she refused when Ryan asked her to perform a sexual act while others watched.

Ryan denied the accusations and said he felt bad for their son, now 9, that she would falsely accuse him.

"I did arrange romantic getaways for us, but that did not include the type of activity she described," Ryan said in court papers. "We did go to one avant-garde nightclub in Paris which was more than either one of us felt comfortable with. We left and vowed never to return."

The Chicago Sun Times reported that at least three important GOP figures in Illinois were extremely angry about the disclosure because of assurances from Ryan that the court papers contained nothing embarrassing.

The newspaper said State Republican chairman Judy Baar Topinka believes Ryan lied to her. Former Gov. Jim Edgar had a similar reaction.

"Edgar kind of feels like he took this guy at his word and is kind of stunned it could be different from what he was told," a source told the Sun Times.

Downstate GOP Congressman Ray LaHood called on Ryan to step down. "I think there's no way the people in Illinois will countenance the type of information and activity he was involved with," LaHood said.

Ryan, a millionaire investment banker-turned-teacher, won the GOP Senate primary in March despite having little political experience.

He and his ex-wife vigorously fought the public disclosure of the files since their existence became known during the primary campaign. They had argued that making them public would harm their son.

In a news conference Monday, Ryan refused to comment further on the allegations, saying his response in the court papers spoke for itself. "I am sticking by the exact things I said five years ago," he said.

Democratic leaders have targeted Illinois, which is widely seen as leaning Democratic, as a key battleground in their effort to regain control of the Senate. Thirty-four seats are up for grabs in November.

In a statement, Jeri Lynn Ryan made no mention of the allegations, but said she now considered Ryan a good man and loving father.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert A. Schnider had ruled Thursday that the documents should be released because of Ryan's high-profile candidacy.

Divorce papers also dogged another millionaire Senate hopeful in Illinois this year. Blair Hull was an early front-runner for the Democratic nomination, but papers were unsealed from his 1998 divorce alleging that he struck his ex-wife and threatened her. Obama went on to win the nomination.